ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones

Josh Heidinger And Will Ortiz Sign With Cyclones

April 3, 2010 - ECHL (ECHL)
Cincinnati Cyclones News Release


CINCINNATI - The Cincinnati Cyclones, ECHL affiliate of the NHL's Montreal Canadiens and Nashville Predators, announced this afternoon that they have signed forwards Josh Heidinger and Will Ortiz to standard player contracts.

Heidinger, 24, completed his senior season at Canisius College, playing in 37 games and picking up eleven goals and 28 assists for 39 points and 62 penalty minutes. Twice named Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week this past season, Josh helped the squad to sweep Mercyhurst in the opening round of the Atlantic Hockey postseason- advancing Canisius to the league's semifinals for the first time since 2004. The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), which has advanced to the 'Frozen Four' in NCAA hockey, eliminated the Golden Griffins from the Atlantic Hockey semifinals.

The five-foot-nine, 175 pound native of Buffalo, NY collected four varsity letters at Canisius. Leaving the Golden Griffins as the program's all-time leading scorer, Heidinger amassed 132 points on 37 goals and 95 assists in 141 games. Josh has been assigned jersey number 15 by the Cyclones.

Ortiz, 23, recently completed his senior season at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, where he appeared in 36 games and netted 13 goals to go with 13 assists for 26 points and 37 penalty minutes. During the season, Will recorded seven multi-point games- highlighted by a two goal game against Merrimack on December 12.

The five-foot-nine, 170 pound native of Framingham, MA earned four varsity letters for the Minutemen. Ortiz played in 131 games, tallying 33 goals and 39 assists for 72 points and 119 penalty minutes. UMass went 18-18 this season, with a 13-14 record in Hockey East to finish seventh among the ten teams. Will has been assigned jersey number 12 by the Cyclones.

The Cyclones travel to Wheeling for tonight's regular season finale. Cincinnati can finish anywhere from first overall in the American Conference- all the way to fifth place based on the results of games tonight. The broadcast of the game can be heard at www.cycloneshockey.com with the puck drop at 6:05pm from WesBanco Arena.

The opening round of the Cincinnati Cyclones USA Collision Centers postseason will be during the week of April 5 and will be a best-of-five series. The format for Kelly Cup playoff games, opponents and dates will be determined as the postseason approaches. The latest information on the team and playoffs can be found at www.cycloneshockey.com. .

Tickets for the 2010-11 Cincinnati Cyclones season are now on sale. The Cyclones Sales Department can be reached at 513-421-PUCK, extension 3. Selected Friday night games are carried on 1530-AM Homer, while all 72 regular season games can be heard on the club's website at: www.cycloneshockey.com. The next game on ESPN 1530 will come with the Cyclones first road game in the Kelly Cup playoffs.

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